While other street rod organizations have loosened their grip to allow newer cars into their shows, the National Street Rod Association has been the lone holdout in hosting street rod-only events in recent years. For traditional rodders, that fact has been a selling point for attending NSRA events. The thinking is, if your members don't care about cars built after 1948, why let 'em through the gate? As it turns out, some members do care about more "modern" muscle cars, and that's the disagreement: You have your rod-only purists in pitched verbal battle with more "liberal" muscle car lovers. At the end of the day, these guys don't actually hate one another, they just want to ride in style!

2/26

The disagreement over which year cars make the best event has finally stopped being a theoretical one. When the NSRA began letting cars built as recently as 1980 (!) into their 2010 show series, the die was cast. This culminated at the Street Rod Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky, this past August 6-8. Popular Hot Rodding hasn't covered this event in recent memory due to the advanced age of the clientele (we're talking the cars here-no letters please!), but we couldn't book our airfare quick enough when we found out about the open invitation to our beloved muscle machines. We fantasized about the '60s classics we'd see, then got giddy that late-'70s machines could pass through the gate without being forcibly restrained by security. Wow! This Street Rod Nats thing had potential.

3/26

When we arrived, we not only saw throngs of muscle cars-they behaved as if they'd been coming for years-we also got an extra treat with the manufacturer's midway. OK, that's an understatement. The manufacturers who attend the Nats are set up in the main exhibition hall at the Kentucky Exhibition Center, which has nearly a million square feet of air-conditioned floor space. When it comes to hot rod and muscle car parts, the Street Rod Nats rivals the biggest industry trade shows for quantity and quality. The big difference is that you don't have to be a member of the trade to attend the NSRA Street Rod Nats-anybody can join in, and boy, did they!

4/26

We made the best out of our three days there, but honestly thought we could've spent an entire week there. In one sense, we were thoroughly unprepared for the enormity of the event. Not realizing the size of the manufacturer's exhibit hall, we figured we would spend a few hours there, and then meander into the car show for the meat of the show. That turned out to be a big miscalculation. (Plan on at least a full day of your trip being indoors if you go.) Your best bet is to think of it as Woodstock on wheels. When we tried to imagine it with an autocross venue, it nearly caused an aneurism. (We mean that in the best way possible.)

5/26Meet "Frankencuda," the '71 'Cuda conceived and constructed by homebuilder, Troy Bumbalow of Cummings, Georgia. Once you get past the 636ci 14-71-blown Hemi, you realize it's got an Art Morrison suspension, Wilwood discs, Budnik "Ice" wheels, and a Turbo 400 with a Gear Vendors overdrive. Muscle is officially here at the Street Rod Nats!

As younger gearheads and car builders filter into the hobby, we see more cars being built with the street rod ethic, meaning lots of attention to detail, uncompromised engineering, and a keener eye on design. And it's not just about cruising the burger stand or straight-line performance either. Today's muscle is not only fit for the highway, it can hold its own on a road course or autocross. All these elements come together at a place like the Street Rod Nats! Would you like fries with that too?